Pesto Caprese Pizza

*Thank you Bru Joy Products for sponsoring this post. All opinions are mine alone.

I’ve said it before, we love having pizza nights in our house. When I say pizza, I mean homemade dough, really fresh ingredients and a little bit of a mess with flour. Its so incredibly inexpensive to make your own pizza and its a blast to make! This Pesto Caprese Pizza is packed with flavor using very basic ingredients. Store bought {good quality} pesto, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, salt, pepper and a little drizzle of olive oil. The homemade crust is thin, bubbly and perfectly crisp. This is a great pizza!

If you haven’t made pizza dough at home yet, I highly suggest you give it a try! This recipe will give you 4 medium sized pizzas using just 4 cups of flour, yeast, olive oil, salt, water and a bit of sugar. The trick is in getting the yeast right and thats all about the sugar in the warm water that will activate the yeast. Once that works out, you are good to go and the yeast will do what it does, rise and make a fantastic dough. This happens to be the same dough recipe I use when I make Homemade Antipasto Bread and any stuffed bread for that matter.

The thing about pizza, the varieties are really only limited by your own creativity or ideas sparked by food blogs {wink wink}. I made two pizzas with the Pesto Caprese topping and two pizzas with ricotta, fresh mozzarella, sliced red onion and thinly sliced soppresata…. it was equally amazing!!!

Whatever your going with, a must have for pizza night is a really good pizza cutter and I have got one for you! The Bru Joy Pizza Cutter Wheel is another must have kitchen gadget! Heres what I really loved about this cutter in comparison to others I’ve used, the actual wheel is steady, there is no wobbling around happening! Its made of stainless steel so no rusting! The wheel is good and large at 3.5 inches, making this not only perfect for slicing pizza but would work perfectly for putting through French bread pizza or a thick calzone. It is sharp and got through that pizza with ease and the best part, there is a lifetime guarantee!

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees, with a pizza stone in there if you have.

Add 1 cup of warm water and the sugar in a measuring cup, stir to dissolve.

Add in the packet of yeast and stir to dissolve. Allow to activate for about 10-15 minutes. It will foam and increase in size so allow for growing space in your measuring cup.

On a clean surface, make a mound with the flour and sprinkle with the salt. Form a well in the center of the mound.

Drizzle the olive oil into the well and carefully pour in the activated yeast.

Slowly work the flour into the liquid with your hands.

Begin to knead the dough, adding a little bit of water as you go {up to ½ cup of warm water}.

Knead the dough until it is well combined, elastic and slightly shiny; about 5 minutes. Flour lightly as needed to prevent sticking to the work surface.

Form the dough into a ball and place into a large bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow it to rise in a warm place.

Allow to rise for 2-3 hours. It should more then double in size.

Cut the dough into 4 even pieces.

Roll the dough out into a thin circle on a lightly floured surface. Place onto a lightly floured pizza peel {if using a pizza stone} or onto a baking sheet {if you don't have a pizza stone}.

Smear a thin layer of pesto sauce on the dough, leaving just a ¾" edge for the crust.

Add some of the sliced tomatoes on next followed by some slices of fresh mozzarella. Season lightly with salt and pepper and pop onto the hot pizza stone in the oven.

The pizza will take about 8 minutes to cook or until the crust is golden and crisp.

Remove from the oven and drizzle very lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

Repeat with remaining dough.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Food blogger, wife to my high school sweet heart, momma to our two beautiful and energetic boys and lover of life. I hope to spread my love of cooking, share some of my favorite products and restaurants and maybe inspire others to get in the kitchen and try some recipes out!